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Friday, November 09, 2012

So hey, what was really so terrible about Pruzansky's screed?

Now that Pruz's outrageous attack on minorities and the impoverished has been picked up by Cross Currents, some people are asking: What was really so terrible about it?

I'm working up the energy to put together a Fisk. Meantime, here's something near brilliant I spotted on Facebook

1. It is not correct nor does the rabbi substantiate his inflammatory accusation that the people who voted for the President are "dumb," "ignorant," "empty headed" and "dunces" using the very language of his "argument." Nor do I believe it appropriate and becoming for the rabbi of the largest shul in one of the most concentrated MO communities to engage in such crass argument, if you can call it that.

2. It is not correct that the 47 percent of people he demeans as free loaders and takers who just want "free stuff" and contribute nothing to this country. It is unbecoming and inappropriate for a leader of an ancient tradition that is centered around hesed and the concern for the other could so easily (and incorrectly) write off those who may not have the luxuries and benefits that many in his community have. It is also rather ironic, considering there is a significant element of the Orthodox community that leaves off the dole under the guise of devoting their lives to learning Torah. Does he ever once criticize that community?

3. It is race baiting when he defines the free loading dunce elements of consisting in large part of blacks, Hispanics and the new immigrants who are not white and not European. He counts the president himself among these free loading "dunces," stating that the "President is part of this different America." This is a continuation of the rabbi's many screeds against the president including most recently his October 7 indictment of the president as an "affirmative action president" who is a likely a "foreigner" whether "Indionesian, Kenyan or Muslim." These are irresponsible accusations as they are not supported or supportable. One would expect more from a spiritual leader and teacher of Torah;

4. It is a form of fear mongering to declare that the United States is doomed because his romanticized version of an "old America" where all were committed to being loyal tax paying citizens who give there fair share no longer exists. Yes, America has suffered a terrible economic crisis, with roots and causes that long precede the current occupant of the White House. But America is not doomed. And responsible leaders in our community have a duty and obligation not to scare people into believing such nonsense. It is all the more disquieting that the accusation is based on claiming that an increasing and significant part of this country's population is not lo

To this I will add the following:

Like too many things Cross Currents publishes, Pruz's insanity is little more than a regurgitation of talk radio yelling points.

His facts are bad: The 47 percent for the most part DO pay taxes, including sales and payroll taxes, and DO have "skin in the game." Many of the 47 percenters are soldiers or veterans; others are people who worked hard their whole lives and now pay no income tax because they are living on a small fixed income.

His complaints are one-sided: Pruz hates people who want Obama Care, and calls them takers, but he has nothing bad to say about the people of his own demographic who enjoy veteran benefits, social security, Medicaid and Medicare.

Every generation has its idiots who believe that their own way of doing things is Really and Truly Authentic, while any new approach is an illegitimate threat to the old order. These morons don't seem to understand that everything changes with the passage of time. Authenticity is a chimera. Change is the true nature of things.

The nativism he displays is offensive. Shouldn't an Orthodox Jew know better? It wasn't that long ago, that the American establishment railed against immigrant Jews using the same language Pruz now employs against the next generation of newcomers.

1 comment:

Anonymous
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